Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware

Lenny Bruce—unedited, uncensored, and unapologetic—is brought to life in this unprecedented collection of recordings. Nearly 40 years after his death, Bruce is still known as a brilliant, outspoken satirist who was unafraid to skewer any hypocrisy, turning a searchlight on such then-taboo subjects as sex, race, religion, and politics in language that riffed effortlessly across the full spectrum of pop culture. According to Nat Hentoff, "Lenny delighted in exploring why certain words were forbidden—and then demystifying them." What many do not know is that Bruce left behind a wealth of recorded material, including personal tapes, private rehearsals of new bits, interviews, phone conversations, and paranoid tirades. This set contains over 7 1/2 hours of material, with such classics as "Religion, Inc.," "How to Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties," "Airplane Glue," "Jewish & Goyish," and scores of other recordings, and includes more than 80 previously unreleased items. Packaged in a hardcover book with a heavily illustrated biography and timeline, this collection provides plenty of new material for the established Bruce fan and an ideal introduction to those who have yet to discover his talent and insight. Note that this material contains language that may be inappropriate for some listeners.